US Holds Iran Responsible for Death of Ex-FBI Agent

Robert Levinson, a former FBI agent, and DEA agent, seen in this undated handout photo released by the Levinson family. (Handout via Reuters)
Robert Levinson, a former FBI agent, and DEA agent, seen in this undated handout photo released by the Levinson family. (Handout via Reuters)
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US Holds Iran Responsible for Death of Ex-FBI Agent

Robert Levinson, a former FBI agent, and DEA agent, seen in this undated handout photo released by the Levinson family. (Handout via Reuters)
Robert Levinson, a former FBI agent, and DEA agent, seen in this undated handout photo released by the Levinson family. (Handout via Reuters)

The US Treasury Department blacklisted two senior officials of the Iranian Ministry of Intelligence and Security after accusing them of involvement in the 2007 disappearance of former FBI agent, Robert Levinson.

The Treasury sanctioned Mohammad Baseri and Ahmad Khazai of the Iranian Ministry for Levinson's abduction, detention, and possible death in Iranian prisons.

With few weeks remaining in the term of outgoing US President Donald Trump, the sanctions indicate an attempt to increase pressure on the Iranian regime before the administration's departure.

This also aims to limit the scope of any negotiations President-elect Joe Biden may seek to hold to revive the nuclear deal with Iran.

Three US nationals are still being held in Iran.

“We all expect a negotiation next year,” a senior US official told reporters. “There should be no agreement negotiated with Iran ever again that doesn’t free the Americans who are unjustly detained in that country.”

Baseri is a high-ranking officer in the Interior Ministry in the counterintelligence unit, and he has participated in sensitive investigations related to Iranian national security issues.

The Treasury said Baseri had worked directly with intelligence officials of other countries to harm US interests.

Khazai is also a high-ranking official in the Interior Ministry and has led delegations to other countries to coordinate security and intelligence cooperation.

Both officials are identified as “senior officials” in Iran's Ministry of Intelligence and Security and were involved in Levinson's abduction on an Iranian island in March 2007, according to the US administration.

Levinson, a US FBI agent, disappeared on March 9, 2007, on Kish Island while on a mission for the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). It is believed that he was detained in Iran, but the government denied having any information about him.

The US government denied he was working for an intelligence agency saying he retired in 1998 and was working as a private investigator, likely probing a smuggling ring.

However, in 2013, the Associated Press reported that Levinson was on a mission for the CIA.

Levinson’s family said in March 2020 it believed Levinson died in Iranian custody, based on information from US officials.

US officials stated that Iranian intelligence arrested Levinson for questioning and used him as a bargaining chip in negotiations with Washington.

He was last seen alive in 2011 when he appeared in a hostage video dressed in an orange prison suit.

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin stated that Levinson's abduction signifies the willingness of the Iranian regime to commit unjust acts.

“The United States will always prioritize the safety and security of the American people and will continue to aggressively pursue those who played a role in Mr. Levinson’s detention and probable death.”

The Iranian government had denied knowledge of Levinson's presence on its soil and pledged to search for him and return him to the United States, but it did not.

“The truth is that Iranian intelligence officers — with the approval of senior Iranian officials — were involved in Bob’s abduction and detention,” FBI Director Christopher Wray said in a statement.



UN Warns US Aid Cuts Threaten Millions of Afghans with Famine

(FILES) Afghan men stand in a queue as they wait to receive food being distributed as an aid by the World Food Program (WFP) organization at Nawabad Kako Sahib area in Baraki Barak district of Logar Province on January 7, 2024. (Photo by Wakil KOHSAR / AFP)
(FILES) Afghan men stand in a queue as they wait to receive food being distributed as an aid by the World Food Program (WFP) organization at Nawabad Kako Sahib area in Baraki Barak district of Logar Province on January 7, 2024. (Photo by Wakil KOHSAR / AFP)
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UN Warns US Aid Cuts Threaten Millions of Afghans with Famine

(FILES) Afghan men stand in a queue as they wait to receive food being distributed as an aid by the World Food Program (WFP) organization at Nawabad Kako Sahib area in Baraki Barak district of Logar Province on January 7, 2024. (Photo by Wakil KOHSAR / AFP)
(FILES) Afghan men stand in a queue as they wait to receive food being distributed as an aid by the World Food Program (WFP) organization at Nawabad Kako Sahib area in Baraki Barak district of Logar Province on January 7, 2024. (Photo by Wakil KOHSAR / AFP)

Fresh US cuts to food assistance risk worsening already widespread hunger in Afghanistan, according to the World Food Program, which warned it can support just half the people in need -- and only with half rations.
In an interview with AFP, WFP's acting country director Mutinta Chimuka urged donors to step up to support Afghanistan, which faces the world's second-largest humanitarian crisis, AFP said.

A third of the population of around 45 million people needs food assistance, with 3.1 million people on the brink of famine, the UN says.

"With what resources we have now barely eight million people will get assistance across the year and that's only if we get everything else that we are expecting from other donors," Chimuka said.

The agency already has been "giving a half ration to stretch the resources that we have", she added.

In the coming months, WFP usually would be assisting two million people "to prevent famine, so that's already a huge number that we're really worried about", Chimuka said.

Already grappling with a 40 percent drop in funding for this year globally, and seeing a decline in funding for Afghanistan in recent years, WFP has had to split the standard ration -- designed to meet the daily minimum recommended 2,100 kilocalories per person.

"It's a basic package, but it's really life-saving," said Chimuka. "And we should, as a global community, be able to provide that."
WFP, like other aid agencies, has been caught in the crosshairs of funding cuts by US President Donald Trump, who signed an executive order freezing all foreign aid for three months shortly after his inauguration in January.

Emergency food aid was meant to be exempt, but this week WFP said the United States had announced it was cutting emergency food aid for 14 countries, including Afghanistan, amounting to "a death sentence for millions of people" if implemented.

Washington quickly backtracked on the cuts for six countries, but Afghanistan -- run by Taliban authorities who fought US-led troops for decades -- was not one of them.

If additional funding doesn't come through, "Then there's the possibility that we may have to go to communities and tell them we're not able to support them. And how do they survive?"

She highlighted the high levels of unemployment and poverty in the country, one of the world's poorest where thousands of Afghans are currently being repatriated from Pakistan, many without most of their belongings or homes to go to.

'Vicious cycle'
The UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan, UNAMA, this week urged international donors to keep supporting Afghanistan, saying 22.9 million needed assistance this year.

"If we want to help the Afghan people escape the vicious cycle of poverty and suffering, we must continue to have the means to address urgent needs while simultaneously laying the groundwork for long-term resilience and stability," said Indrika Ratwatte, the UN's resident and humanitarian coordinator in Afghanistan, in a statement.

The statement warned that lack of international aid in Afghanistan could lead to increased migration and strain on the broader region.

The call for funding comes as other countries including Germany and Britain have also made large cuts to overseas aid.

But the Trump administration cut has been the deepest. The United States was traditionally the world's largest donor, with the biggest portion in Afghanistan -- $280 million -- going to WFP last fiscal year, according to US State Department figures.

But other UN agencies, as well as local and international NGOs are being squeezed or having to shut down completely, straining the network of organisations providing aid in Afghanistan.

The Trump administration also ended two programs -- one in Afghanistan -- with the UN Population Fund, an agency dedicated to promoting sexual and reproductive health, the agency said Monday.

And other organisations working on agriculture -- on which some 80 percent of Afghans depend to survive -- and malnutrition are impacted.

"We all need to work together," said Chimuka. "And if all of us are cut at the knees... it doesn't work."